Ready to Leave Your Wheelhouse and Stretch Your Writing Skills and Expand Freelance Opportunities?

Freelance writer Debra Johanyak discusses why pushing outside your wheelhouse can help writers stretch their writing skills and find more freelance success.

Have you written all the sports coverage, business reviews, and product descriptions you can stand? How about ads, opinion pieces, local events, and news reports? Web content, blog posts, social media posts? (yawn) 

You don’t have to give up on these, but are you hankering to try something different? There’s a world of unique writing opportunities out there. Finding them is the tricky part.  

I didn’t realize how diverse the freelance universe is until I was tapped by someone who had heard about my writing and editing skills and offered something I hadn’t done before: Edit copy for an international pop music album cover. Now, I enjoy music, but I’m no musician, as I explained to the young guy emailing from another continent.  

“No worries,” he replied in slightly accented English. “In fact, it’s better if you don’t know the technical side of the music industry. Read and respond like a fan so they will know what my songs are about.”  

I listened to all his songs and liked most of them! Reading his basic lyrics and descriptions, I added action verbs, stronger nouns, and shorter sentences. Voila! He loved my ideas and later sent me two more album covers to edit. I’m still no music expert, but I have a better understanding of his techno style and his fans. Last I heard, his sales were doing fine.  

My favorite writing and editing projects are those where I learn something while helping the client adjust the language and tone for the target readers. 

Soon, my mind began to open to projects I wouldn’t have considered before due either to lack of interest or lack of confidence. Before long, I was working on a variety of exciting projects that nudged me out of my comfort zone into the challenging territory of new formats and high-profile clients.  

Travel Writing 

One of the most exciting projects I accepted through a writing agency in Canada was to revise and edit a travel blog for a minor European celebrity. His blog’s premise was to travel throughout the U.S. on the platform of “kindness” to see how people responded to a low-income tourist without knowing of his popularity in Europe.  

The blog featured his responses to interesting encounters with locals and lesser-known places of interest. He invited me to L.A., which included visits to Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, and paid expenses for a couple of all-day writing sessions as his blog neared completion. I made a side trip to San Francisco to see a family member, a bonus.  

Speaking of travel, I’ve been offered paid visits to Eastern Europe, Africa, Israel, and Saudi Arabia to write an adventure novel, a conservatory documentary, a philosophical treatise, and a family history. While those projects seemed a little beyond my then-expanded wheelhouse, I may consider similar initiatives in the future. I’ve also written travel guides for beautiful U.S. cities of my choosing. 

Tip: Don’t hesitate to consider new opportunities. Contact travel agencies to offer writing assistance for their materials or website to gain experience and offer your writing and editing skills to travelers who want to summarize their experiences for loved ones or local press. 

Business Writing 

Business is another area where I had little personal experience, so I previously hadn’t looked for writing work beyond newsletters and Web content. That changed when I was approached about writing a family business history through three generations. Was I up to it? I wasn’t sure and started asking questions.  

It turned out the head of the company wanted a series of eight or 10 interviews with his descendants currently running the business along with key employees who had facilitated the transitions. Although I expected the finance industry project to be mundane, it was anything but! Snowstorms, earthquakes, and a White House invitation enlivened the family’s story to where I felt it would make a great movie—starring Robert Redford in the lead role!  

The project turned out well and boosted my confidence. I began to ghostwrite or edit business books for international travel, the mortgage industry, and gas and oil, among others. Executives often like to publish books about their company or sector to be seen as industry leaders. The publicity helps with promotions, bonuses, and title enhancements.  

Tip: Check out local companies or online businesses of interest and contact them to offer your services to write a company history, a family biography (for family-owned businesses), or the business’s contribution to the industry. 

Professional Services  

A psychologist who worked with the state prison population wrote case summaries for each of his clients. He asked my help to review the summaries and revise or edit them as needed. This was another interesting project because I learned a lot about the backgrounds of prisoners (they were anonymous in the reports) and why they were imprisoned. The psychologist also explained their goals and outlook. Later, he asked me to design a brochure for his services.  

Tip: Contact professional offices or social service agencies to offer writing services like editing reports (especially those submitted to the government) or other documents that need to be highly accurate and easy for readers to understand. 

Other Freelancers  

You may think it presumptuous to edit another freelancer’s work. But some are overloaded with projects and eager to share (for a percentage of the fee) with another freelancer. When my cousin became a freelancer on different projects than I was used to (fantasy novels and movie scripts), she asked me to edit her work, and I obliged.  

Again, I learned much from exploring other genres and exercising my editing skills to reinforce her writing abilities. She was grateful, and I got paid! Eventually, one of her clients offered me additional work, with my cousin’s full support. 

Tip: Get acquainted with writers in local or online writing groups and let people know you have experience in writing, revising, editing, and proofreading. The local chamber of commerce is another way to meet area professionals who may need writing help for their companies. 

Invent a Niche 

One of my earlier vocations was teaching. Based on experience, I felt parents could benefit knowing more about classroom expectations and student experiences. I offered a local newspaper a weekly column of about 500 words each: “From the Teacher’s Desk.” It was readily accepted and published. I felt good knowing I was helping families and students understand classroom learning from a teacher’s perspective.  

Tip: Reach out to sectors or industries where your expertise can help. If you have experience with a loved one in a nursing facility or hospice care, offer an article to a facility’s newsletter, blog, or website about family expectations or concerns for a loved one in that situation. You can think of numerous topics to suggest that can bridge the gap between care providers, an aging patient, and the family. 

Individual Projects 

A friend of a friend asked me to write his memoir about a terrible accident that left him a paraplegic. It was a sad story, but it was heartwarming to see him triumph over adversity. He was making plans to start a business with a girlfriend who was helping him. However, he was so busy that the book plans were put on hold. He later developed a serious illness and passed away.  

Other friends have asked me to help them write their life story or novel, and I’m waiting for their plan to develop. Many people have great ideas for a book, but they’re not sure how to organize it. I’ll make suggestions, but the ultimate decision is up to them.  

A basketball coach at my son’s Christian middle school did an excellent job of teaching the students how to play the game well and to show respect for the other teams along with additional life skills. That age can be difficult, right? I was so impressed with his work that I authored an article, with his permission, which was published in a youth group leadership magazine.  

Tip: When you discover someone or something that impresses you, consider ways of sharing your admiration through publication. If you have a byline, someone may contact you about writing a similar topic.  

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Ready to leave your wheelhouse? Pack up your laptop and head for the great unknown! A world of freelance opportunity awaits your inventive and creative capabilities!

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Debra Johanyak is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Writing is her passion and lifestyle with reading fiction and nonfiction a close second. She enjoys using her experience to help other writers dodge pitfalls and hone their skills. In addition to publishing several books and articles, she has assisted authors in the U.S. and abroad to prepare manuscripts for publication.